1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to circuit board chassis. More particularly, the invention relates to circuit board chassis that permit flexible insertion and assembly of backplanes and circuit boards into the circuit board chassis.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to effectively realize enhanced functionality of advanced microelectronic circuits, circuit components that comprise those advanced microelectronic circuits are typically assembled to a circuit board. Such a circuit board typically further comprises a plurality of conductor layers that are separated by a plurality of dielectric layers so that a plurality of circuit components may be electrically interconnected. To provide further advanced functionality, individual circuit boards (which are often designated as “daughter boards”) may be further connected and interconnected using a backplane (which is often designated as a “motherboard”).
Finally, for purposes of environmental protection, as well as to facilitate proper assembly of a plurality of circuit boards with respect to a backplane, both the backplane and the plurality of circuit boards are positioned and assembled with respect to each other using a chassis that may also function as an environmental enclosure.
While the use of such a chassis or environmental enclosure is common within the electronics packaging and component assembly art, the use of such a chassis or environmental enclosure is not entirely without problems. In that regard, assembly of a backplane and a plurality of circuit boards into a chassis or environmental enclosure may present difficulties under circumstances where the chassis or environmental enclosure is located within a space constrained area. Such circumstances are often prevalent within the context of chassis or environmental enclosures that are intended for military, avionics or seaworthy applications.
Various circuit board chassis and related assemblies are known in the electronics packaging and component assembly arts.
For example, O'Brien, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,564, teaches a circuit board retainer assembly which when attached to a circuit board allows the circuit board to slide freely within a slot within a circuit board chassis. This particular circuit board retainer assembly is self contained, and includes a mechanism to prevent accidental disassembly.
In addition, Tirrell et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,423, teaches a circuit board chassis suitable for interconnected circuit boards. This particular circuit board chassis includes a movable ceiling panel and a movable floor panel that provide for installation of backplanes of various thicknesses.
Finally, El-Batal et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,987,694, teaches a disk storage system that includes removable arrays of disk drives. Within this particular disk storage system, the removable arrays of disk drives are located upon multiple backplanes that are inserted into a chassis.
Desirable are circuit board chassis and circuit board enclosures that allow for flexible installation and assembly of backplanes and circuit boards into those circuit board chassis and circuit board enclosures, particularly under space constrained limitations.